The present invention relates to a device for operating a mouse-operated computer program as disclosed in the preamble of claim 1.
When operating a mouse-operated computer program it has hitherto been usual to use a flat object having push buttons for operation and a roller on the underside which controls the mouse pointer. These mouse-like articles have been given an ergometric shape so that they fit well in the hand, but during use the hand must of course be twisted from the natural position of rest, which causes constant tension in the elbow area. The use of such mice has been found to cause inflammation and pain in the arm when used over a long period of time. In order to avoid these static positions it has been recommended that the mouse should be used in different positions, and different types of underlying surfaces have been made which are supposed to give a better working posture, but none of these have proven to be satisfactory.
In order to overcome some of these drawbacks a so-called mouse pen has been developed, but this has not been found to give the desired result either with regard to a normal working posture which does not cause tension in the arm.
The objective of the present invention is to obviate the aforementioned problems of chronic pains and the inconveniences these entail. This is done by means of a device for operating mouse-operated computer programs, the characteristic features of which are disclosed in the specification and the claims. Additional features of the invention are disclosed in the remaining dependent claims.
By means of the device according to the claims there is provided a possibility of being able to work with mouse-operated computer programs without any anxiety about muscular tension and other pain since the hand will be in a normal position of rest without any twists of the arm, and the weight of the arm can rest fully on the device.
Since buttons are located at different points the user will be able to change fingers when operating icons or similar in the computer program. In this way, static use of the fingers is also avoided, and thus any muscular tension which might result in chronic conditions will, in a simple manner, be avoided.
The provision on the underside of the mouse of contact points in the form of rolling balls or sliding surfaces enables the device to be operated with ease of movement on the mouse pad in such a way that no extra strength will be necessary in order to move the mouse pointer on the screen. This means that the weight of the arm can rest on the device and that the usual small lift of the arm with subsequent muscular tension will disappear.